Pastor Rob Bailey and his wife Deandra felt God’s call to the Athens’ community in July of 2008. With the thought of planting a church that would impact the community, they first opened a coffee house in the Five Points area to meet people and build relationships. Two Story Coffee was launched in October of that same year and a local icon was born. Shortly after, in April of 2010, Rob was called to pastor here at Oconee Heights Baptist Church.
Rob and Deandra have 3 adult sons Paul, Mark and John and (so far) one amazing daughter-in-law, Hannah, (married to Mark).
Rob has served as student pastor at Decatur Heights Baptist Church, West-side Baptist Church and Student/College pastor at Annistown Rd. Baptist Church before coming to be our senior pastor in 2010. He’s a native of Georgia, growing up in the Atlanta area and attending Tucker High School, Mercer University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Pastor Rob is committed to expository preaching of the Bible, in which the Bible is read, explained, and applied to daily living. He and Deandra are both committed to living out the Gospel, thriving in community, and leading the Oconee Heights family to “love each other so well, we make Jesus Christ impossible to ignore”.

AnnaSchill

Children's Ministry Director

Anna joined the staff as Children’s Ministry Coordinator in April of 2015. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Family and Children’s Ministry from Toccoa Falls College in 2010 and has served in several churches in both children and worship ministries over the past 5 years. Anna has a passion for sharing the Gospel with children and helping them grow in their faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. She enjoys serving the children and families of our church and surrounding community and is excited about continuing to reach children with the contagious and powerful love of Jesus.
Anna and her husband Vincent have been married since 2012 and Vince serves as a Police Officer for Athens Clarke County. They welcomed their first son, Lawson, in June of 2016, and second son, Clayton, in September of 2017.

MatthewEfird

Small Groups Pastor

Matthew has the privilege of being married to his beautiful wife, Hannah. He and Hannah welcomed their first son, Walker, into their family in February of 2018. Their Goldendoodle, Fallon, is also a cherished member of their family. He and Hannah are high school sweethearts and both graduated from UGA. They enjoy hosting friends for dinner and game nights. Not only are they fiercely competitive but they love to travel.
As the Small Groups Pastor, he encourages you to get plugged into our Church’s journey. He wants everyone to Connect, Grow, and Mobilize as a community. He loves to read, listen to music, and binge watch Netflix. Matthew grew up playing football but says he could snow ski every day of his life. It is no secret that he has a hidden talent for making homemade pizza.

AdamTarver

Student Pastor

Adam Tarver is a recent graduate from the University of Georgia (Class of 2016) with a degree in Agribusiness. He is a native of Georgia and was born in Macon. However he grew up just south of Atlanta in Locust Grove.
His passion for youth ministry began when he was in high school and he became more involved with his home church. His experiences with youth ministry helped to shape his desire to be a part of our family at Oconee Heights. He is passionate about encouraging people to earnestly seek after Jesus and about bringing this environment to his students at the Church.
Outside of ministry, Adam loves hosting friends in his home for game nights, enjoying a good cup of quality coffee, being outdoors, and reading and writing.

BlakeIvey

Worship Pastor

Blake Ivey is the worship pastor at Oconee Heights. His passion is to lead the people of God in passionate and authentic worship. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Kennesaw State University in 2013. Outside of music, Blake is passionate about discipleship and the study of scripture.
Blake met his wife Maddi in Rome, GA where she attended Berry College. They welcomed their first son, Ezekiel in August of 2017. They also have two dogs, Hope and Chewbacca. They love the Atlanta Falcons, Hawks, Texas Rangers and they’re learning to cheer for the Bulldogs (it’s a process). Additionally, Blake enjoy video games, movies, and music (obviously)!

TeresaWilson

Ministry Assistant

When you call Oconee Heights, Teresa is the one who will answer the cell phone. She graduated from Athens Tech in marketing management and became a church member (with Joe, her husband) in 2013. Along with her regular office duties, she maintains the church website and social media. She also helps with most of the fellowship and outreach events and keeps up with the church calendar. In addition, she teaches 3rd and 4th grade Sunday school and volunteers for Awana and children’s church, “Canopy Kids”. She feeds her own growth by participating and co-leading women’s ministry. Teresa and Joe both love serving their church in any way that brings glory to God. At home, they both answer to the high expectations and demands of their dog, Maggie Mae.